BA Season 3: 43 'A Destined Role'
by The Barracuda
Summary: A short story where Infiniti, during a visit to the castle, is called away by she who empowered her four thousand years ago, the spirit of the Earth.


  
  
43 - "A Destined Role"  
Originally Written: February 10th, 2001  
  
Author's Note: Has anyone seen "Dara"? For it seems she's disappeared. I miss her...  
  
June 10th, 2001  
"Wow, you like these even more than I do, don't you, Trini?" asked Elisa of her  
daughter, watching the small child relish her treat of fresh sliced peaches. The small  
gargess gurgled and swallowed the last of her spoonful, immediately grasping forwards  
with her hands in a gesture Elisa knew so well. "You want some more?" Elisa coyly  
cooed, splashing the spoon into the small jar and deliberately waving the sweet smelling  
fruit in front of Trinity's great sense of smell. "I'll give you another helping, if you  
say...mama."  
  
Trinity tilted her head slightly, her adolescent mind attempting to figure out why her  
mother had so black-heartedly suspended her feeding.  
  
"C'mon, Trini," she urged her on, swirling the spoonful of fruit in front of her daughter's  
wide chocolate eyes, "mama...ma...ma...c'mon...you can do it...mmmma..."  
  
Trinity burst out in laughter, hearing her mother babble so much like her. She clapped  
her hands and fluffed her wings, pleading for yet more of Elisa's efforts to influence her  
child's first words.  
  
"Stubborn little squirt, aren't you..." Elisa huffed, relenting to her daughter's longing  
stare to the fruit hovering mere inches from her mouth, and slipping the spoonful into her  
awaiting mouth. "I guess you'll talk soon enough, but I swear, if you say daddy...I will be  
extremely pissed off."  
  
"A child's first word is truly an event to be cherished," a voice called out behind the  
raven haired detective, "why would you be disappointed if she said what you did not  
expect to hear?"  
  
"AHH!!!" Elisa screeched, whirling around to find a cream-colored gargess standing near  
the arched entrance to the kitchen. "Jesus...Infiniti..." Elisa placed a hand to her chest,  
forcing her heart to continue it's beating, after receiving the errant shock of the gargoyle  
guardian's soft voice appearing from nowhere. "Must you do that all the time?!"  
  
"Do what?" she asked innocently, slowly approaching the mother and daughter.  
  
"You know...that whole 'pop in and scare the hell out of me' thing..." Elisa whispered  
harshly. "So, you here because you're letting another friend of mine into the castle, or is  
this just a social call?"  
  
"Are you still angry about that?" Infiniti replied. "I only wished to allow your friend to  
witness firsthand the true, gentle nature of the gargoyle race. My task is to ensure their  
survival...and yours."  
  
Elisa quickly turned around to match eyes with the goddess. "But Iliana??"  
  
"Human allies must be sought out, in any form. She now knows the real truth about your  
husband and clan, that they are peaceful creatures whose only reason to exist is to protect  
those they love."  
  
"Yeah, and Demona was a prime example." Elisa chuffed. "Allowing 'Ana to interrupt  
her time with Trini was real smart..."  
  
"She is still alive, that is a clear sign of Demona's willingness to change her stubborn  
ideals. If one who has tasted nothing but bitter hatred and burning conceit for an entire  
millennium can actually find the power to change, than perhaps, so can this world."  
  
Elisa actually formed a half-smile at this declaration, finding an inspiring solace in  
Infiniti's great hope.  
  
As Infiniti took her place at the table's side, Trinity turned to see the radiant she-goyle  
move near her high-chair, and eyes of cinnamon swirl locked with a dark emerald green.   
"Hello, Trinity child." Infiniti greeted the young adolescent. "Enjoying your snack?"  
  
Trinity slapped her diminutive hands to the wooden tray and flapped her wings, trying to  
claw her way from the chair to get at her friend.  
  
Yet Infiniti placed a hand to the baby's shoulder and slowly nudged her back into place  
with her soothing touch. Trinity relented as Infiniti took a seat next to her, and drifted a  
slender hand through the infant's ebony tress, long enough to nearly fall past her eyes,  
and cascade down her back, between her wings. "Your hair is growing out of control, my  
child."  
  
"Yeah, call it a gargoyle trait. She's barely eight months old and has hair down to her  
wings." Elisa chuffed, straightening out a wayward strand, and brushing it back past her  
slightly pointed ear. "She's getting a little shaggy. I'm going to have to cut it again.   
Goliath doesn't want me to, he says he likes it long. But I don't want it floating past her  
eyes when she's...hmmm, learning how to fly."  
  
"You fear her first flight." Infiniti exclaimed, a declaration to match Elisa's dread in  
having her firstborn taking to the misted skies on her own.  
  
"Goliath said it'll be probably less than a year when she'll...how did he put it? Feel the  
need to stretch her wings, and heed the call of the wind."  
  
"Gargoyle hatchlings need to learn to fly at a very young age. To strengthen the muscles  
in their wing struts."  
  
"Said the lavender giant." Elisa cursed beneath her breath, her husband's insistence to  
encourage her baby girl to fly. "She is barely learning how to walk, let alone flying  
around Manhattan."  
  
"It will be time soon enough. But do not fret, Elisa, for there are many qualified  
instructors in this clan."  
  
"Yeah, I suppose." Elisa slipped another spoonful of peaches to Trinity, and the small  
girl smacked her lips with the sugary feast. "But for right now...she's grounded, no  
matter what her father says."  
  
Infiniti laughed at the display of strength in this slender woman, a power that even the  
leader of this clan would shy away from. Suddenly, from inside of Elisa's crimson  
bomber jacket, came a shrill ringing, that seemed to elicit a grimace from the mother.  
  
Elisa grumbled and delved her hand onto the jacket and pulled out the small device.   
"This better be good..." she hissed, as she placed the cellphone to her ear. "Oh,  
captain..." Elisa rose from the table, immediately dropping the spoon and jar,  
unintentionally leaving it in full sight of Trinity, yet far enough away to remain out of  
reach.  
  
The small girl gave up her futile efforts to reach it, and instead could do nothing but stare  
sadly at the jar, and pout.  
  
"Do not worry, Trinity child." Infiniti came to the rescue, and grabbed the jar, using the  
metal utensil to feed her once more.  
  
Elisa noticed this and crossed by Infiniti's side. "Oh thanks. Would you watch her for a  
minute? I need to take this."  
  
"Of course, Elisa," she answered, watching this simple fruit bring so much pleasure to  
this small child, "say hello to captain Chavez for me." Elisa slowly trailed to the far side  
of the room, turning her back to the two female gargoyles, caught up in her discussion  
with Maria Chavez.  
  
Infiniti scooped off the remnants of food on Trinity's chin, gently urging it back into her  
mouth. A simple task for the guardian of the gargoyle race, perhaps beneath her earthly  
duties, yet still a job she most enjoyed, seeing her child of destiny so content brought a  
smile to her lips and an enjoyment to her soul.  
  
But something was wrong, as the goddess found the world was growing faded, and  
suddenly a bright flash surrounded her, numbing every sense, and as if pulling her  
essence from her physical form. Trinity's laughter withered, as did everything else. A  
total cessation of sound filled her ears, and when Infiniti opened her eyes, she was  
blinded by a domain of utter nothingness. The purest of ivory, with no noise or  
perception, just absolute white.  
  
"Ah, she has called me away." Infiniti whispered to herself, settling her wings and  
crossing her arms, a rare display of what almost could be called anger in her journey to  
this place.  
  
"I am somewhat disappointed, guardian." a feminine voice echoed all around her, serene,  
calming, motherly.  
  
"And may I ask why?" Infiniti replied, searching this realm of nonexistence for her  
friend.  
  
"You are breaking the rules set out for you."  
  
As if a flow of wind passed by the gargess, with the scent of rose petals and fresh earth, a  
woman appeared in front of her. "I merely fed Trinity some peaches." she replied,  
defending herself to the encroaching form.  
  
The woman appeared in full to the gargoyle's eyes. Dark, mahogany brown skin, and  
long flowing hair, a gleaming black void set against the light. She wore a light violet  
robe, a surface of strange material flowing with the invisible wind, seeming to come from  
this woman herself. "It wasn't that, and you know it." she huffed, playing upon Infiniti's  
own jest. "You have been continuously stepping over the boundaries laid out for you,  
with increasing audacity."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"You revealed yourself to Goliath and Elisa, and the other clans of this world, which is in  
fact within the realm of your duties, but now I find you have on many occasions appeared  
to the Wyvern clan to help them in their affairs, allowed Iliana Starr to gain access to the  
castle...you even turned Sir Griff into a chicken. You seem to appear everywhere, and  
meddle in their own concerns. I would not take any notice except the fact you are  
revealing too much to them. I instilled these boundaries to prevent..."  
  
"Those boundaries should not exist." Infiniti hissed back. "I am merely helping to guide  
those who want peace, and preparing the clan for the future. I am power incarnate, yet I  
cannot use it. I have the conceivable power to..."  
  
"To what? Wipe out every 'bad guy' on this planet?" the woman argued back,  
outstretching her arms, and clicking her shining gaze to the she-goyle. "Correct all the  
mistakes both man and gargoyle have made?"  
  
"You gave me these powers. I should be able to use them to help my race. I am sick of  
being forced to combat fear, prejudice and hatred with only words."  
  
"Those abilities are not yours to do with as you wish, they are there only to serve as a  
reminder to what great power in the wrong hands can do."  
  
Infiniti thinned her eyes, her wings trembling with the hint of anger very seldom  
displayed. "Sometimes words are not enough."  
  
"That is what the greatest of terrorists often say, before they destroy and maim to prove  
their point." the mature woman countered. "I will not allow you to become one of  
them."  
  
"You know me better than that, lady Gaia. I would never harm anyone with the power I  
hold, unless it was absolutely necessary to save innocent lives."  
  
Gaia, spirit of the Earth, and she who gave Infiniti her powers four millennia ago, sighed.   
"I cannot risk it. The temptation would be too great. Even for those, like you, who are of  
the purest heart."  
  
"It's...very frustrating, my old friend. I could have prevented Thailog's assault, Sobek's  
numerous attacks, every hurtful and destructive occurrence that has happened to the  
gargoyle race since I was freed." Infiniti rushed forwards, an apparent fear laying within  
her emerald stare. "By the dragon, Trinity almost died..."  
  
"But she still lives, due to the continuing fight of both races. If they knew they would  
always be saved by their guardian spirit, they would become careless, almost negligent in  
their battle for peace. The war for pacification will only be won by the ones who inhabit  
this world. The three races, human, gargoyle, fay, must co-exist in a peace they  
themselves worked so hard for, or they shall never learn."  
  
"But..."  
  
"Imagine...if you could perhaps rid my world of every ounce of pollution."  
  
"And is that not a good thing?"  
  
"When you continually clean up after a disorderly child, does not this child willingly  
cause even more disorder? It becomes used to the fact it's guardian will always be there  
to clean up after it. The harsh lessons of life are never applied, and thus it never learns."  
  
Infiniti's very form became limp, her wings drooping to the reality of the state of the  
world, and the race in her charge. "I suppose."  
  
"Your greatest power, guardian, is showing the inhabitants of this world that they can  
find the path to peace on their own."  
  
"Yes," she reluctantly agreed, then strengthened her resolve, her wings of a broken  
mirrored finish flaring to their furthest reach, "but I will still care for my child of destiny.   
I will help to guide the clan, and their human allies, and even those I believe shall help in  
the quest for a unified Earth. I will still continue to seek out new friends, and ensure a  
safe path for the Maza family." She raised a talon, pointing to the woman across from  
her in this desolate environment. "If you still think I am transgressing the rules you have  
laid out, then send me back to where I should have died four thousand years ago."  
  
"You whine like a child, Infiniti friend." she laughed cheerfully, impressed at the  
gargoyle's show of strength to someone with the power of a god.  
  
"That is not amusing in the least. I am merely...voicing my concerns."  
  
"As am I."  
  
"If you do not believe I am the proper choice for this role..." she yelled, vibrant sparks  
flaring in the emerald crystal of her eyes.  
  
"You are." Gaia calmed her friend. "You were destined from the time of your hatching.   
Your untimely...accident, merely forced me to enlist your services earlier than I had  
hoped. It seems the curse of youth still resides within you."  
  
"Is that why you must continually berate me, and my way of performing my duties?"  
  
"You know I am not berating you, or any such thing. I am only here to help you.   
But...do not break the rules I have set, or you will lose everything you have gained, and  
your race will be left without a protector."  
  
"Cold words from the spirit of the Earth."  
  
Gaia shook her head, a warm smile tugging at her lips. "No. Merely words of truth.   
They will never achieve true peace, unless they themselves work for it."  
  
"Fine. Please send me back, Trinity is most likely waiting to finish her meal."  
  
Gaia cocked her head, moving near the gargess, yet no sound of footfalls could be heard.   
"You are fond of this child."  
  
"Very. She represents the future of all races, and I will die rather than see her hurt."  
  
"Good. Your convictions are strong, my friend. Please, if you must, continue with her  
feeding. We shall speak again...very soon." Gaia lifted her arm, and simply snapped her  
fingers.  
  
Instantly, the gargoyle guardian was back at the kitchen table, resuming from where she  
had left off. "I suppose I now know how it feels like." she joked under her breath, as  
Trinity squealed and begged for the last of the fruit. "Yes, my child of destiny. I am  
here. Always."  
  
"Thanks, Infiniti," Elisa called to her, as she threw her cellphone back onto the kitchen  
table, "sorry to stick the mighty guardian spirit with such a menial task." She threw a  
quick glance to the cream-colored she-goyle, who returned it with a slight tugging to her  
full lips.  
  
"It pleases me to aid you and your child in any way possible, Elisa."  
  
"Well, if she's finished, it means it's time for her bath." Elisa pulled the child from the  
highchair and nuzzled nose to nose. "Time to get wet, angel. Now this time, don't  
splash me..." Elisa scolded the giggling gargess as they both left the kitchen, leaving the  
guardian to watch mother and daughter fade from her sight.  
  
Yet their auras remained with her, a magical sense she could feel emanating from their  
bodies. A soothing piece of their very souls that lingered with her. She smiled, and ran  
through her mind, the conversation held just mere minutes ago. A literal goddess, who  
must fight for peace with only words. "Was I born for this role?" she asked herself. "Am  
I prepared for the task to ensure the safety of my race, and that of humanity? I believe I  
am..." She looked back to the empty jar left on the table, and with only a cock of her  
spurred ridge, the glass receptacle disappeared with a flash. "But I shall continue to bend  
the rules as I see fit, for my child of destiny, will be protected...until she takes her place  
as the leader for all races, and guides them into a brighter future..." 


End file.
